Motörheadphönes Motörizer rock 'phones review

One retailer’s Motörheadphönes Motörizer page caught my attention today. “Warning!” it shrieked, “The packaging and product includes explicit language. Not suitable for children under the age of 18.”

Quite apart from the fact that whoever wrote those words has clearly not set foot in a British secondary school for a fair few years if he or she thinks the rude words on the box would shock any youngster about to get his mitts on these cans, but are there any kids out there likely to want an over-the-ear pair of ‘phones from Motörhead?

Are you ready, as they say, to rawk?

Hell, Lemmy’s lot weren’t even cool in the early 80s when I started listening to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, even though Ace of Spades remains one of the best-known tracks of the period, not least thanks to its performance in The Young Ones.

“Motörhead? That’s a dads band, innit?”

The band’s members aren’t exactly young whippersnappers, of course, if they ever were, and there’s something reassuringly old rocker about these rather fine cans. Not only do they tick the ‘excellent sound quality’ and the ‘tuned for rock not rap’ boxes, but – and this is important to us old fellas – they’re rather good value for money too.

Metal band

Consider: the £130 RRP gets you not only the aforementioned ‘phones, but two removable cloth-wrapped, straight leads, one 1m for phone use, the other 2.5m in order to reach from sofa to hi-fi; a clip-on quarter-inch jack adaptor; the inevitable warpig-branded carry bag; and a separate inline microphone and remote control combo built into a second metre-length cable.

There’s even a wee clip bundled to keep the ‘phones 3.5mm jack attached – not a socket, you’ll note – to whichever cable you’ve got them hooked up to. All the cables have L-shaped jack mounts.

'Controlizer', the bundled - but removable - remote/mic dongle

Other old git oriented enhancements include a pair of very comfortable velvet ear cushions that are much more pleasant to wear, especially after long listening sessions, than leather or leatherette ones. They seem to provide a little more noise-isolation too, but these are not noise-cancelling cans.

Each side sports a 40mm driver. The cups are large and fit entirely over my ears. They’re mounted on mid-point pivots connected to two curved that rods that form the headband. Beyond rotating the cups – which can turn through almost 180°, handy, claims the manufacturer, for DJs – there’s no way to adjust the band, but rubber-spring loaded pads point down to reach your skull whatever its size and ensure the Motörizers don’t slide down.

No sleep 'til Vulture Central

They’re not heavy – they come in at just under 240g – so they remain comfortable, but have enough weight and grip to stay in place through all but the most vigorous banging of the head.

Because you asked for it - the Motörizer frequency response chart

Electric details can be found in the Vital Stats box. In practice, they mean the Motörizers require a higher input volume level for a given output than most other headphones I’ve used in recent years so there’ll be no turning to 11 if you feel the need to go “one louder” with these boys.

You probably won’t want to jack ‘em up too high in any case. The Motörizers create a very nice sound: the bass is beefy but not to much so that it dominates the sound; you get plenty of clarity in the mid-range; and the high-end has been lifted clear of the rest.

The cups pivot right round for DJ usage - rocktastic

The results are very clear, distinct vocal, cymbal and string notes, but as you up the volume it can get a bit much, particularly with some 1980s and earlier treble-heavy pop recordings, I found, many of which were mixed for the rumble of the turntable not the inherent frequency range of the CD. Modern recordings are fine. I think they've enhanced the highs a little too much.

That said, if you’re feeling too old to rock’n’roll, but too young to die you may find the treble enhancement aids those ailing ears. Either way, there’s a good sense of space in the sound – band members aren’t all squeezed right into the centre of your head.

It’s all subjective, of course. You may prefer a flatter sound – in which case, check out the next-down-the-line Motörheadphönes, Iron Fist – but I like the sound the lively sound of the Motörizers.

Verdict

If you’re a fan, of course you’re going to want a pair of these, the top-end – but still reasonably priced – members of the Motörheadphönes line-up. They don’t deliver enough bass for folk whose tastes tend toward hip-hop and such, but there are plenty of alternatives for you lot. Rock lovers – even if they’re not Motörheadbangers – will like the more axe’n’vocal friendly sound, supported by the bass not crushed under it, the Motörizers provide. ®